There have already been proposed methods for supressing the jolt upon shifting gears in motor vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions, but the known methods relate only to the jolt that takes place when the vehicle is moving, in starting up or in shifting gears. In such methods as a rule, the jolt effect on the vehicle at the time is detected, compared with the maximum permissible jolt and the difference is used to provide a regulation of the gear shifting jolt. In the case of vehicles equipped with automatic stepwise operating transmissions, a jolt also occurs when, after the motor is already running, the selector lever by which the ranges of the automatic stepwise transmission can be selected, is moved out of the position which corresponds to the neutral range (N) and is moved over into a position that corresponds to a drive range A. Usually in starting up, the selector lever is moved over from the position (N) into the position A and the first gear is thereby set into operation in the transmission. At the same time, a clutch is engaged that connects the running motor through a torque converter with the transmission. The previously revolving parts of the transmission input are braked. The slip then takes place in the torque converter. This sudden braking of the transmission input is, however, accompanied by a jolt. In the known methods and devices, the jolt on going into gear is only controlled in the case of vehicles already in motion, and it is therefore not possible, with those methods and their corresponding devices, to reduce or to regulate out the jolt that occurs upon switching over from a neutral gear range into a drive gear range of an automatic stepwise transmission.